Christmas With You: Part Two

"Alix?" Jake asked. She looked up at him with her eerie
eyes. He held up her diary. "Is this what you were looking for?"

The white Kougra squeaked with joy. "My diary!"
She wrenched it from the pirate Kougra's paws and cradled it like a newborn
babe. "Where'd you find it?"

"You left it here yesterday. I took it home
so it wouldn't get all wet…" his voice trailed off. Her eyes were accusing him
now.

"You read it, didn't you." Her voice was flat,
accusing.

"I…well, I…" The white Kougra turned and dashed
up the steps. Her paw was poised over the metal handle of the door when he called
out.

"Alix, I think I'm your brother!"

Time stood still for both Kougras. Alix's mind
was whirling; Jake was panicking. Should've he have said it that soon? What
if she didn't believe him? So many questions…he couldn't let her run again.

He started up the steps after her. "You wrote
in your diary about grey eyes, and how you've been having those weird dreams.
I've been having the same dreams, and they started after I met you. Except in
my dream, I can't see who's behind me. My owner won't tell me about my past."
He was standing right next to her now. "I'm more confused than I've ever been
in my life. Maybe, together, we could find something out about ourselves."

Alix was scared witless. Never in her life had
someone grasped her wonderings so neatly. No one had ever cared about her pondering
writings, her wishes for a family. What if what he said was true? Or what if
it wasn't? She could just find herself frozen again, but she had to risk it.
She couldn't let this chance slip away…

"Alright," she whispered.

~*~

They skipped school that day. Sometimes priorities
can change.

Jake ran all the way back to his neohome, dragging
the fragile Alix beside him. It was a frantic race against time: they had to
get there before Ron left for the shop.

They were in luck. Jake hurtled through the
door and slammed into Ron's stomach. The teenage boy promptly fell on his rear.
"Ow," he grumbled. "Jake, shouldn't you be at school? And who.." The instant
Ron's eyes fell on Alix, he froze.

"Ron, I need to talk to you. Now."

The boy found himself pushed into the kitchen
and the door shut behind him, Jake glaring at him, enraged. Alix waited in the
warm corridor. "Why didn't you ever tell me I had a sister?"

Ron's eyes glinted with some unknown emotion.
"How did you find out?"

"Who cares!" the Kougra exploded. "Why didn't
you tell me?"

"Because the people at the pound weren't sure
she would survive her childhood! They said she would always be weak and mostly
useless. I didn't want to have you dragged down by a twin, so I just got you.
I wanted a strong pet, one who loved me and only me," Ron explained angrily.
"Why did you bring her here?"

"Because she's my sister, that's why! Why don't
we adopt her now?"

Ron's face froze into molten lava. "The same
reason why I didn't adopt her years ago. She's useless!"

Jake's mind was swarming and overflowing. All
these years…Ron had said he'd loved Jake, but Ron refused to love Jake's sister.
What was the difference? Did a pet have to be strong and useful to be loved?
Jake hadn't always been an awesome battle pet. There were so many contradictions…

Jake slammed the kitchen door shut and whirled
around to see Alix tearing out of the corridor, sobbing. There was a note on
the floor, hastily scribbled and stained with tears. He picked it up with shaking
paws.

Jake,

I've gone to Happy Valley. Don't come after
me; I heard what your owner said. I'll be more trouble to you here than a sister
is worth.

Don't forget about me.

-Alixis

That was her full name: Alixis. It was beautiful…he
wondered what his name had been when he was a white Kougra, snoring in a cold
pound cell with his twin sister…

~*~

Alix knelt before the giant Christmas tree,
glowing in the center of Happy Valley. It was Christmas Eve, and pets were running
past her, getting in their last minute shopping. She saw the gold and silver
tinsel, the blue and red baubles, the striped candy canes, the strings of frozen
popcorn, and the glittering pine cones draped over the dark green pine tree.
It looked exactly how she remembered it, when she'd last been here as a little
one. The sweet smell of slushies dangled tantalizingly over her cold nose. She
watched a tall girl, cuddling a wee Bori, skip away from the Advent Calendar
carrying a small bag of neopoints and two wrapped presents. Candlelight gleamed
to the northeast, where Bruces slid across the frozen lake, creating a symphony
with their skates. A gentle snow was falling, but the silvery stars could still
be seen, peeking through the wispy grey clouds. The glittering sound of carols
drifted on the breeze, through the air spiced with warm muffins and puddings.

This was the Day of Giving as she remembered
it. The people in Neopia Central never did anything right: fighting over presents
in the cheapest shops, drinking spiced apple cider until they were sick, quarreling
over who got what gift. It was a Day of Giving: sharing, love, and warmth. All
the years she'd lived in that valley, back when she was younger, she'd never
spent the day alone; someone had always invited her into their home to share
the wonderful day with their family. Yes, the people of Happy Valley did this
wonderful season the way it was meant to be.

She pulled her thick blanket around her closer.
A starry Bori had invited her inside several hours before, but Alix had declined,
asking instead if she could join them the next morning. The Bori was delighted
and gave Alix a blanket, just to be sure the Kougra would make it the next day.

Alix sighed and nibbled on a clean snowball.
The world was quiet again, except for the faint tinkling of Christmas bells…

A candy cane slid into her paws, and a small
Bruce dashed away, grinning with pleasure at the success of his mission. Alix
sent him a friendly smile and a call of thanks, letting the sharp taste of peppermint
tingle from her tongue all the way down to her toes, mingling with the pure
cold snow. She'd missed this place more than she'd thought; perhaps she would
enjoy staying here after all.

Then, a warm cup of borovan set itself down
before her. She gaped at it, awestruck. Who'd…

"Hi, Alix."

The white Kougra slowly looked up into the steel
grey eyes of a white Kougra with a gold earring glinting in one ear. "Jake?"

He snuggled beside her promptly, wrapping himself
in a blanket. "Yep."

Alix was glad for the extra warmth, but… "What
are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home with your owner?"

Jake fiddled with a bit of an icicle dangling
off his nose. "Weeell, I did some thinking about what happened. You know, that
day with Ron. He'd always told me he was my only family, and I believed him.
But then you came along, and I found out he'd been lying to me the whole time.
Ron hated you for doing that; he thought that having a sister would mean I wouldn't
love him anymore. All that "family love" he'd always told me about had been
a lie; you were family too, whether Ron liked it or not.

"It took me up until last night to work up the
courage to leave. I packed my stuff and snuck out of my room at midnight; I
left Ron a note saying I'd gone to the Lost Desert. But I came here instead.
I've been looking for you ever since I got here."

Alix was suddenly afraid. What was he really
doing here? Was this...forever?

"Alix?" Jake asked, yawning.

"Yes?" she said nervously.

"Do you remember if I ever had a different name?"

The Kougra's pale violet eyes fixed themselves
on the tree and were drawn to the star. It sparked a memory…

"Snowstar?"

Jake breathed deeply. "Snowstar…" He paused
for a moment. "I stole some of my owner's neopoints and bought a little igloo
not far from here under your name. If you don't mind, I'd like to stay here.
Permanently, I mean. You know, forever."

Alix felt every fear she'd ever had melt away.
"Of course!"

Jake hugged her tight. "I had to spend more
than Christmas with you, sis."